The majority of new buildings today rely on the old methods that use bearing walls or columns to support a heavy roof or an intermediate floor. Structures built in this way are susceptible to forces caused by gravity, adverse weather and earthquakes. The stresses in the buildings induced by these forces can cause cracks in and eventually the failure of the building. Internal stresses at the corners and joints of such buildings are amplified by the construction methods. Failure of such buildings is initiated at their weakest points.
Conventional structures use massive quantities of materials and require excessive amounts of labor time and energy to construct. Forests are cut down to provide the lumber. Energy is expended to mine and create metal beams and components which carry the weight of the other building materials. Furthermore, a great amount of human, machine and combustible fuel energy is needed to transport and assemble the materials at job site.
Architects are designing buildings that are pleasing to the eye but are expensive to build. The buildings have curved surfaces which are very expensive to construct.
There has been a need for a method of creating a structure, such as a home, a vault for a mall, a sports stadium, etc. from less expensive materials and labor and a need for a method of building the structures more quickly.
Further, there has been a need for creating buildings that are more resistant to the forces of nature.